most needed while shopping in europe:

her hat was also pink and those purple sleeves weren't attached to her shirt

an asian person. they will ask to see every single thing in the store. they will model the bags for you and try on every pair of sunglasses. they ask nosey questions about unpriced items. they really get the job done. however one is difficult to come by because they only travel in groups of AT LEAST six, usually 10+ members. they enter lovely stores but still walk around looking like a train wreck. clearly im no fashion forward chick i prefer my yoga pants and tshirts but i know heinous like the back of my hand.

today was our one full day in venice and we made it count like no other! first on the list for me was the hotel breakfast. i love breakfast foods and italy is nothing special in terms of a buffet. i did however meet a charming couple from the d.c. area and im nearly certain they supported our current president. after our chat i met mom in the lobby where we encountered the other family who would be accompanying us on our water taxi. matthew was 15 and clearly some genius kid. i watched him do this TWICE in literally less than a 5 minute span. so his lovely family of 14 stuffed on a water taxi with mom and myself. this ride was much more calm that the last one i took. we were transported to the island of murano.

before (red because the molten glass is so hot)

after! so pretty & MINE & FREE

murano is known for its glass. the tour we shoved in on took us through the factory where they make all of these incredible glass pieces. its insanely hot in there because they have to melt and form glass. these men must be from the equator because i was dying and i was 20 feet away. they made two horse statues while we watched. they started out like the left picture and ended like the right picture. the 16 year old girl in our group asked what the did with those statues before i got around to opening my mouth... sadly i heard they would never be sold. after mom made some significant purchases and we had garnished a few free gifts with purchase our lovely italian charming man whose name escapes me but started with M and ended in elo. looked at me and announced he was giving me the two tiny horses for no reason other than he liked me. i could have kissed his olive skinned face. clearly i refrained because we were in public, mom was there, and this man had 25 years on me. the pieces they have in this gallery are literally amazing. anything you point at and say oh thats pretty they whip out a price. a zodiac cancer piece from the last collection of a dead artist that can't be more than 10 inches tall is over 36 grand.. just fyi if you wanted something that obscure. i was more at home in the gift shop where i wasn't afraid to breathe and things were more like 50 euro.

post murano we came back to venice and shopped. mom swapped out her wallet for the same wallet in a lighter leather that the paris sales girl lied & said didn't exist. we stumbled into a church dedicated to moses. accidental discoveries are often the most incredible. (after i walked out the front door i noticed the no camera sign...oops)


we continued down the lovely gucci/prada/ferragamo/burberry/louis vuitton/chanel/versace/d&g etc street and walked into valentino. i got my birthday gift! i picked up some souvenirs for pals (if you're lucky or tell me how awesome i am/my blog is or if i happen to like you you'll probably earn one). after shopping mom and i went on a romantic gondola ride. our driver/gondolier spoke minimal english so we understood about 3 of the places he tried to point out. one place he didn't point out but i understood was "the wall im inches away from hitting at all times to keep you on your toes" it was a short ride but beautiful. i love this city, partially because i like unique things and clearly venice is one of a kind but also because everyone makes an effort to help you out or make you feel included.

if only he knew the irony of his "strength in numbers" shirt

tomorrow (tuesday) we head to london for a one night stay before ireland! a side note on europe in general. aside from the obvious asian invasion, the amount of affection here is insane. age is no factor neither is publicity. one thing i will not miss about the fair cities i have seen so far are the winged rats. as entertaining as it is to snap pictures of drugged out tourists literally sitting or laying on the ground just watching and touching the birds, its taxing. people allow their children to terrifying the birds, causing a flutter fit at which time the birds fly off in any given direction. lucky me, i usually seem to be in their way. i dont need to be dusted but thank you pigeons. go poop on someone else's statue of life.

as our waiter said to me leaving dinner, i say to you venice: ciao bella.